


Working off the debts

by silverlocusts



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: AU ranch life, F/F, I haven't been playing too much Red Dead Redemption you have, Root is obviously bad news, Shaw is a low key cowboy, but in a good news kinda way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-01 13:17:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17867966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silverlocusts/pseuds/silverlocusts
Summary: Shaw owns a ranch. The world turns, life goes on, the cows need tending. The arrival of a strange woman bleeding all over her shit messes that plan up.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Chapters are short, but I'll update daily or as near as, life permitting. The rating will go up in later chapters.
> 
> P.S. I anglicized the spelling of Gen to Jen for AU-period authenticity (ha!). Don't hate me.

The cows were restless again. Shaw’s father had always said animals had a sixth sense, that they could tell when something bad was going to happen. In Shaw’s opinion, it was probably coyotes. She watched for telltale flashes of brown fur from the saddle. She watched the cattle chewing. They would have to be moved to a new pasture tomorrow or the day after.

She watched the sun getting lower in the sky. With the ranch a mile or so behind her, the view was just open grassland, with a few blurred trees away to the south. Her horse shifted restlessly beneath her and Shaw unconsciously ran her hand over it’s fur, soothing the animal.

A soft rain began to fall, and Shaw tugged her hat down and pulled her coat tighter. The evenings were still cool this early in April. She watched a bird take flight from the ground, off to seek better shelter. Her fingers twitched on the rifle which lay across her lap, but this wasn’t the time for hunting.

Shaw turned her horse and walked it slowly around the herd. In the distance, the evening train blew its whistle. It had taken a while to get used to that when the railroad was finished up a couple of years ago. Shaw still didn’t like the fact that it had brought more people to the ranch, but as Cole often reminded her, she alone couldn’t stand in the way of progress. Not that laying some explosives across the track when it was under construction hadn’t crossed her mind. In Shaw’s opinion, one of the perks of being a rancher was being as far away from other people as possible.

The sun was glowing red when Shaw heard the thud of hooves getting nearer. She loosened her pistol in its holster, just in case. When the rider came into view though, Shaw let her hand drop from her hip. It was just Jen.

She was out of breath as she reined her horse in next to Shaw.

“Cole sent me to fetch you,” she gasped, “someone’s been shot and they need you.”

“Up at the house?”

Jen nodded. “A stranger Miles and Jake found on the road. It looks bad.”

Shaw wordlessly handed the rifle over to Jen, knowing the girl would stand watch for her. She put her heels to her horse and set off at a gallop. She blamed her parents for this, she reflected as she rode. They were both too intelligent for their own good and had wasted far too much time on Shaw’s formal education for ranch owners. Now she was stuck being the resident ‘doctor’ on the ranch, despite no formal qualifications, which meant interacting with people. 

Though it was kind of funny when the actual doctor came around and was begrudgingly forced to admit that Shaw was decent at it.

She was back at the ranch in no time at all, and headed straight for the big house that had been her parents, and was now hers. She hitched her horse, strode up the path, climbed the the porch and stepped into the house. She knew where Cole would have had the boys carry the patient in, they had sent the front parlor up as a makeshift doctor’s office a while back. When Shaw pushed open the door she found Cole standing over the bed, his face crinkled with worry.

“What the problem Cole?” 

She could see relief flood his face at her words. Cole was great at a lot of things, but dealing with blood was not one of them.

“Shit Sam, she’s shot up pretty bad, I dunno if she’s gonna make it.”

“Ok, stand aside Cole. Get my bag.”

Shaw stepped up to the bed and looked at her would-be patient. The woman was pale and thin and red blood had bloomed across her shirt. Shaw checked her pulse as Cole hurried behind her.

“Scissors, Cole.” She held out her hand and felt the cool metal in her palm a second later. She made short work of the woman’s ruined shirt and undershirt, revealing a nasty look bullet wound underneath. Well, it was lucky the woman was already unconscious.

She turned to Cole. “I’m gonna need the iodine. You ok to prep while I wash up?” 

Cole swallowed and nodded. All credit to the guy, he was there when you needed him. That’s one of the reasons Shaw kept him around.

 

***

 

Shaw’s feet tugged her in the wrong direction. She was supposed to be heading to the barn to talk to Nate about repairing the roof, and yet her feet were taking her to the house. Specifically to the room in the house where their still unconscious guest was holed up.

It had been three days and Shaw had found herself checking on the patient more than she thought was probably necessary. The woman was so pale and thin though, that Shaw thought she might expire at any moment. So far she’d stayed firmly in the land of the living, much to Shaw’s pride. She’d extracted quite a few bullet fragments from the woman’s body and hadn’t know if she’d make it through that first night. Shaw and Cole had taken turns keeping a watch on her.

She thought that Cole might be checking on her too. Maybe he was harbouring hopes of being there when she woke, so she could thank him in person for saving her. Shaw couldn’t blame the guy, their unconscious guest had a pretty face. Well, kind of mesmerizingly beautiful actually, not that Shaw would ever say so out loud. Hell maybe this was going to be the story that Cole told in future years when people asked him how he met his wife. Shaw smirked at the thought. Cole was such a softie.

Shaw was far from convinced that their patient would be a good match for Cole anyway. Not only had she come in with a bullet wound, she’d also been carrying pistols of her own and a sizeable purse of money. Not to mention the fact she was dressed like a man. The whole ensemble didn’t exactly scream ‘proper lady’. It was almost intriguing. 

Reaching the door to the stranger’s room, Shaw paused outside to listen for a moment, before pushing the door open and peering in. 

The woman was awake. Awake and sitting up in bed prodding at the bandages Shaw had wrapped around her. Her eyes moved to meet Shaw’s.

“Howdy,” she said, “have I got you to thank for saving my skin?”

Shaw shrugged and stepped more fully into the room. “Well, you could start with the boys who found you on the side of the road and hauled your sorry ass back here, but I got the bullets out and stitched you up.”

She saw the woman’s eyebrow raise, and decided that it was an impressed look the woman was giving her.

“Beautiful and talented,” the woman murmured, “it’s my lucky day.”

Cole, Shaw thought, might not be as successful in wooing this woman as he hoped.

“So you got a name?” she asked. It would be nice to stop internally referring to this woman as ‘the woman’ or ‘the patient’.

The woman eyed her for a moment and then smiled. “You can call me Caroline. Miss Caroline Turing to be precise.”

“Shaw.”

Caroline grinned. “Just ‘Shaw’? You ain’t got a first name?”

Shaw rolled her eyes. “Sam.”

“Well Sam Shaw, thank-you very much for saving me.” 

“It wasn’t personal. You can work off the cost of the medical treatment on the ranch, when you’re well enough.”

“We’re on a ranch?” Caroline looked around the room like it would give her a clue, but the shades were across the windows and the room was pretty bare. 

Apparently dissatisfied, Turing began wriggling out of bed. Shaw watched her movements as she stood up for the first time, checking for indications of pain or bleeding through the bandages. 

Caroline stretched experimentally, wincing. “Well, that hurts,” she said with a grimace. “Any idea what happened to my shirt?”

“It was ruined even before I cut it off you.” 

“I see. And was I wearing anything else when your fellas brought me in?” 

As it was, Turing was dressed only in loose fitting long underwear courtesy of the housekeeper. Shaw had turned up the morning after the surgery to find Emily carefully washing and dressing the woman, and despite backing out of the room slowly Shaw hadn’t been able to avoid a lashing from Emily’s tongue about the state she’d left the patient in. Since then Caroline’s remaining clothes had been washed and neatly put away in the bureau. Emily had even darned one of her socks. 

Shaw herself had been more interested in Turing’s pistols. Nice pair of six shooters, even if the idea of using two guns at once was pretty laughable. She’d hidden them before Emily found them. 

“Your clothes are in the bureau,” she nodded in that direction. “Also a shirt that isn’t ruined.”

Caroline smiled at her and wandered over to the bureau, hunched a little from the pain, and for some reason Shaw couldn’t quite fathom, she just stood there and watched. Nate would be getting irritable. She sighed.

“Listen I gotta go take care of some stuff. I’ll come by later and show you the ranch.”

Caroline turned and looked over her shoulder. “That’d be nice,” she smiled.

Shaw nodded awkwardly and turned on her heel. That barn wasn’t fixing itself after all.

 

***

 

When Shaw came back to pick up Caroline, she couldn’t find her. She wasn’t in the room. She wasn’t in the bathroom, or the kitchen, or the library, or the sitting room. She wasn’t in any room in the house. 

She asked Emily, and Emily hadn’t seen her. She asked Jen, and Jen hadn’t seen her. She tracked down Cole in the foreman’s office and asked him, but he hadn’t seen her either. In fact no-one seemed to have seen her. It was true, most people Shaw stopped to ask didn’t know what she looked like, but still, how unobservant were these people. 

It occurred to Shaw soon after, that if she’d been up to no good, had been shot and taken in by strangers, then she may well have gotten the heck out of there as soon as possible too. Shaw went to check the drawer where she’d hidden Turing’s pistols. They were gone too.

She was about to start checking the stables for missing horses, when the evening train let out an ungodly shriek of steam as it barrelled down the tracks away from the ranch. Oh.

For a moment or two, Shaw thought about sending a telegraph through to Blueberry where the train would stop next. Could be the Sheriff over there had a wanted poster that would look almighty like Turing. In the end though, Shaw just turned away and went back to work. She was done with the woman. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as her ma had been wont to say.


	2. Two

“You read the paper today Sam?” 

Cole usually knew better than to ask stupid questions. It was 5am and Shaw was elbow deep in a cow. Calving season was on.

She favored him with a particularly hard stare, even though he wasn’t looking at her. His head was buried in the paper.

“No Cole, I have not read the paper.” Shaw closed her eyes, moving her hand around to visualise the position of the calf. 

“Well, you should probably see this,” Cole said.

Shaw’s eyes snapped open in irritation. She breathed slowly and focussed on the calf. The cow bellowed at her. She found the calf’s hind legs and began pulling.

“Cole, get me the rope.” 

He looked up at her like he’d only just noticed she was busy. He quickly set aside the paper and fetched the rope, trying to avoid looking too long at what was going on. Shaw rolled her eyes at his reticence. She took the rope from him with a shake of the head and turned to concentrate on getting it around the calf’s legs. Cole went back to his paper.

“Uh, Shaw?”

“What is it Cole?” Shaw tried very hard to keep the tension out of her voice. For the cow’s sake. 

She got the rope hitched and finally withdrew her arm. She took a couple of breaths before grabbing the rope.

“You know the woman you fixed up?”

“Sure,” she pulled on the rope, “I remember.” She dug her heels in and strained. “Caroline Turing.” The cow mooed louder than before. She could feel the calf coming.

“Well, maybe we shouldn't have helped her,” Cole said.

Shaw grit her teeth and took a deep breath for one more pull. “Why’s that?” She felt another shift. “Gone all misanthrope on me Cole? Thought that was my role.” Shaw stumbled back suddenly as the calf finally emerged in a rush of slime.

She dropped to one knee by the calf and checked it’s breathing.

“Not exactly. Just, y’know, turns out she’s wanted by the Blackwater Marshal’s office.”

Shaw blinked. She cleaned some slime out of the calf’s nose and heard it suck in a breath. 

“Son of a bitch,” she muttered to the calf.

 

***

The newspaper had lain unread on Shaw’s desk for almost a week. Partly it was the fact that she’d been up most nights with the cows, even going so far as to sleep in the stalls one night. And partly it was a stubborn refusal to admit that she was interested. 

Tonight though, tonight she decided she’d take a look. She took a bath first. Then ate some pie. Then fixed herself a bourbon. 

It was on page three. Bank robbery in Linden on June 3rd. $2,000 stolen. Tellers describe a tall woman dressed like a man holding the bank at gunpoint. Robber was shot at as she left and may be wounded. The Marshal's office said the woman wanted in connection with a number of robberies and possibly a counterfeiting operation. $100 reward for capture.

Shaw examined the artist’s sketch. Yep. That was Caroline Turing alright. She sighed and downed her whisky and went to bed.

When she woke up, it was still dark and someone was in the room with her.

Shaw blinked and slowly reached under her pillow for her buck knife.

“Now, now Sam, there’s no need for that.”

Shaw recognised that voice. Son. Of. A. Bitch.

She sat up slowly, noticing the moonlight glinting off the metal of the gun barrel pointed at her first. Her eyes slowly adjusted to make out the figure seated in the chair across the room. Shaw wondered how long she’d been there. 

“What are you doing here Turing? Or whatever your name is.” 

If the woman had been hoping for fear, she’d come knocking at the wrong door.

“Call me Root.”

Shaw could hear the smile in her voice. She was unimpressed.

“That’s a dumb name.”

She heard, more than saw, the woman shrug.

“It’s not important. I just came to repay you,” she said.

“Repay me?”

“Yep,” she held up a small bag and jiggled it so Shaw could hear the metal inside. “I left before I’d worked off my debt to you. This is the next best thing.”

Shaw rolled her shoulders. This was both ridiculous and somehow expected at the same time. She wondered if she was dreaming. This was the kind of crap that happened in dreams.

“So you what, robbed a bank to pay me pack fifteen bucks?” 

Root laughed. “Gosh Sam, I had no idea you were such a romantic. Alas, I didn’t rob the bank just for you. Maybe next time.”

It was a shame it was too dark for Root to see the expression on Shaw’s face.

“Gee that’s awful considerate of you,” Shaw’s tether was rapidly approaching its end, “but I don’t want your money. Not stolen money anyhow.”

Root was silent for a few long moments. She pocketed the purse of money.

“I’ll think of another way to repay you in time.” Root stood, and for the first time Shaw could see her face, part illuminated by the pale light from the window and partly in deep shadow. She would remember that sight for a long time to come.

Root turned to head for the door.

“It healed ok?” Shaw heard herself ask.

Root paused at the door, turning her head just a little. “It did,” she said.

When she was gone Shaw thought about going after her. Thought about taking her captive, because Shaw was undoubtedly the stronger of the two. Thought about rousing the nightwatchman. Thought about the reward.

In the end she lay back down and went to sleep.

 

***

It was Jen’s 18th birthday and Shaw was being forced to participate. They had lit a campfire to cook the stew, even though the heat was a little much on this fine September evening. A fiddler fiddled and a drum beat out time to a group of dancers, with Jen central among them. One of the farmhands was whirling her around and Shaw could hear her breathless laughter even above the music. She’d warned every young man on the ranch years ago to keep away from Jen or risk broken limbs, but she supposed 18 was old enough. 

She was alone on the bench for now, staring into the flames. She’d already endured a couple of games of horseshoe and was waiting for Cole to get drunk enough to let her play five finger fillet with some of the more reckless men. Until then she was content to stare and drink beer.

Slowly it grew darker, and more people sat down around the fire. A natural gap existed between Shaw and the nearest person, her reputation being well established. As it should be. She did own the place after all. She blocked out the noise of people chattering and was first in line when the shout for dinner went up. She took her bowl of stew away to the corral and hiked her ass up onto the fence. It was empty of people here and the noise of the campfire was away behind her. She could hear the horses settling in for the night.

She liked the way the corral smelled at dusk.

She heard the click of the hammer before anything else.

“I’m eating,” Shaw said. “I’m not putting my hands up.”

Root laughed. “That’s a good thing to know.”

Shaw just grunted and shoved another spoonful of stew in her mouth. It seemed like she’d been expecting Root. 

“I thought of a way to repay you.” Root said after a few minutes. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I left it in the house.”

Shaw didn’t say anything while she finished her stew. She kept focus on her food lest she become curious. Root didn’t say another word, and when Shaw turned, finally, empty bowl in hand, Root was already gone.

Disgruntled, but entirely sick of other people for the evening, Shaw made her way through the shadows back to the house. Jen would forgive her, she knew. If anyone understood Shaw’s solitude it was Jen.

Shaw found the rifle on her bed. It was a new model, top of the line. She felt a smile tugging at her lips.


	3. Three

Cole got married early December and Lucy his wife insisted they move to their own place. Shaw helped them find some land, went to Blackwater with Cole to arrange the land deeds, and joined the rest of the boys on a felling party out to Prickle Pine. Cole insisted on worrying about moving out of the big house, even though Emily and Jen would still be there. Shaw didn’t tell him that it didn’t matter to her either way. It felt like something that might be misinterpreted.

Soon after Cole moved out, Emily and Jen went visiting family in another state and Shaw had the house to herself for three weeks.

Well that was the plan anyway.

One evening Shaw got back in from a long, cold day spent fixing the stables up to find a pleasant smell wafting through the house. It was coming from the kitchen. She thought Emily and Jen must have come home early, until she pushed open the kitchen door to find Root standing there chopping potatoes.

Root caught sight of her and grinned like this was an everyday occurrence. 

“You’ve got half an hour to wash-up before dinner,” she said.

Shaw just blinked a couple of times, then let the door swing shut as she backed away into the hall. She spent a good few minutes standing there as she tried to figure out how she should feel. All knowledge of regular human social interaction told her that this was highly unusual and she should be perturbed, or worried, or something. She tried to imagine what Cole would think or do, but she couldn’t get passed the image of him just standing there slack jawed.

She sighed. She wasn’t worried, or perturbed, or anything. She was like she always was, except she was looking forward to a hot meal which had been cooked for her, instead of the boiled bean stew she would have made for herself. Root’s presence didn’t feel out of place or unusual, at least to her. So that would have to do for now.

She went to wash-up.

The food was really good. They sat at the kitchen table together to eat, and Shaw fetched them each a beer to wash it down.

“Wouldn’t have taken you for a good cook,” Shaw said after she’d taken a few bites. And while one of those bites was still in her mouth.

Root shrugged demurely. “I picked a few things up here and there.”

They finished their meal in companionable silence. It wasn’t that Shaw didn’t necessarily want to know where Root had been for the last four months, it was more that she didn’t know how to ask. Her and Root had begun a game now, it seemed.

“Thanks for the rifle,” she said eventually, after their plates had been cleaned and their beers drunk.

“Not a problem,” Root said. “Is our debt clear?” She said it with genuine interest, not like she wanted the answer to be one thing or the other.

Shaw considered. “No.”

“Well I’ll stay and make you food until your housekeeper gets back, then I’ll ask you again.” Root stood up to clear their plates.

That evening they sat together in the parlor and drank whisky and played cards. 

“So how’ve you been?” Root asked when they were settled either side of the card table. 

Shaw studied her hand and shrugged. “Y’know same. Got the place ready for winter, sold a bunch of cows and horses. Life ain’t that exciting for us regular folk.”

She could see Root grin at that, but gave no sign, just tossed another coin in the centre. 

“Raise.”

“Am I not regular folk?” Root folded her cards and watched benevolently as Shaw scooped her winnings across the table.

“No. You’re a wanted criminal.”

Root’s hand was at her breast before Shaw had even finished speaking, her face a picture of offense.

“Why Sameen, you besmirch my honor,” she gasped. 

Shaw just rolled her eyes and dealt the next hand. She never had much inclination to dramatics.

“Like you got any honor. Now pitch your chips in and quit acting up.”

Root smiled and picked up her cards, head apparently back in the game. They played a couple of hands in companionable silence, sipping whisky.

“You better not be cheating,” Shaw said after Root had won the third hand in a row.

“What’s the matter Sam, not used to losing?” Root smirked.

Shaw ground her teeth and downed her whisky. She usually won at poker, and it was a rare person who gave her such trouble at the card table. She resolved herself to focus more, and began studying Root’s face for tells.

She won the next two hands. Not because she could discern when Root was bluffing though. She was a damn good liar. Shaw still found herself watching Root’s face though. She had a pretty face, and the low light in the parlor turned her eyes the same colour as the whisky. 

Shaw found herself noticing all kinds of details about Root’s face, and even though she’d watched over the woman unconscious for days, that still and peaceful face was not Root. Root was alive and constantly shifting, the lighting adding dramatic shade to her features.

After losing four more hands, Shaw declared it was time for bed. When she climbed the stairs a good few bucks shorter than when she got up, she realized that she’d enjoyed herself tonight.

 

***

The morning after, Shaw woke up convinced she’d dreamed the whole thing, but when she got downstairs she found Root asleep in the little front room that had been hers when she was unconscious. Shaw let her sleep and went about her morning routine. 

On a normal day, Shaw tended to leave the house early and not get back ‘til the evening, so she didn’t expect to see Root all day. It was a surprise, then, when Root found her feeding the horses around lunchtime. It was even more surprising that the reason she’d done so was to hand Shaw a neatly made package of sandwiches wrapped up in wax paper. She even brought a glass of milk, which Shaw downed and handed back. 

“Are you supposed to be my wife now?” Shaw asked as she wiped her mouth off with her sleeve.

Root raised her eyebrows, looking far too amused. “Is that a proposal Sameen? I have to say if I’m gonna be expected to take up all of the tradition wifely duties, we should talk about the sleeping arrangements.”

She winked at Shaw and turned to leave before Shaw could think of anything to say. She worked some frustration off forking piles of hay around in the loft afterwards. 

Nate found her up there some time later and they rode out to see the cattle together.

“See you got a visitor,” Nate said after a while.

Shaw nodded. 

“That gal Miles and Jakey found last year?”

“That’s her Nate. She goes by the name Root.”

Nate was quiet for another while, but Shaw could feel him wanting to say something. 

“Nate. Spit it out,” she said finally. Usually Shaw’s desire to not talk was stronger than anything else, but if Nate had questions then it meant others would probably have them too. Best to clear the air.

“Well,” Nate was choosing his words carefully, “I seem to ‘member something your boy Cole said last year ‘bout how she was caught up in some robbery or whatnot…”

Shaw closed her eyes briefly. Life seemed so simple when other people weren’t involved in it.

“That’s her Nate. Papers said she robbed a bank, and frankly I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s done more than that too. You can go on and report her if you like, but I wouldn’t expect much to come of it. She’ll disappear like smoke in the wind before anyone catches up to her I’d wager.”

There was some more quiet after than.

“So, she staying up at the big house with you?” 

Shaw rolled her eyes. “You know damn well she is Nate. What is it you’re really asking?”

“Just was wondering if she was gonna make an honest woman of ye,” Nate burst out laughing before he even finished the sentence. 

Shaw began to wonder why she even stayed on this ranch. Remote cabin in the forest sounded good right about now.


	4. Four

Root had cooked again. Slabs of meat seasoned with something Shaw couldn’t identify, but that tasted great. Root had also been shopping it seemed.

“You know people know about you right?” Shaw asked when she saw the fresh food Root had acquired.

Root cut her meat and chewed on it thoughtfully. “Way I see it,” she said eventually, “only a handful of people saw me first time I came, few and far of them can read the papers, and less than that will have been told anything by you. So it’s really just a matter of charming the right people. Men always like to believe a pretty woman isn’t the villain she’s made out to be.” Root grinned a mischievous grin.

Shaw was kind of impressed.

They didn’t play cards that night. It seems that Root was not only able to read, but also really interested in the dusty bookcase in the parlor that Shaw barely ever touched. Root insisted on reading some poetry aloud, which Shaw was scornful of at first, but it turned out that Root had a really good reading aloud voice so Shaw sat there with her whisky and her eyes half closed listening to the cadence of her words.

The next morning, Shaw entered the kitchen to find Root at the stove. 

“Morning Sam,” Root said cheerily.

Shaw grunted in response, the smell of the eggs Root was cooking making her stomach growl.

Root didn’t seem to mind. “Take a seat, these’ll be ready in a minute.”

True to her word, Root set a plate of scrambled eggs down in front of Shaw a short while later. Shaw didn’t waste breath on thanks, just began shovelling forkfuls into her mouth. Root had put something spicy in the mix to give the eggs a kick. It was delicious.

As she finished her plate, Shaw became aware that Root was watching her across the room. She cleared her throat.

“You don’t have to do this you know, you already make me lunch and dinner.”

Root shrugged, “My mother always told me that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. Besides, I’m going back to bed after you leave.”

“About that,” Shaw grimaced, “the bed you’re in, that room, it’s meant to be kept free for people who need my help.”

Root smirked, “Why Sam, you’re not inviting me to share your bed are you? What will the neighbors say?”

Shaw scowled at her. “Not my bed. Another bed. There’s a spare room upstairs, you may as well use it if you’re going to be hanging around like a bad smell for a while.” She pushed her plate away and stood; she needed to be getting to work.

 

***

Shaw heard Root before she saw her. The thunk of the axe biting into wood was intimately familiar to Shaw’s ears. She rounded the back of the house to see Root tossing some splintered wood onto a pile, before setting a fresh log on the chopping block. Shaw hung back for a few moments, watching her uninvited house guest work.

Root’s hair was tied back to keep it out of her face, and she had stripped down to shirt and britches despite the cold weather. Judging by the redness of her cheeks and nose, Shaw guessed Root had been at it for a while. She watched as Root lifted the axe and swung it down again. She wasn’t as strong as Shaw, but she had good technique at least, the log splitting into two satisfyingly equal lengths.

Shaw watched Root’s face closely as she picked up a half and set it on the block again to quarter it. Root almost looked like a different person when she was focussed on a task, unobserved and intent. Shaw decided she liked that expression.

She waited until Root had split the wood before she spoke.

“I didn’t take you for a physical labor kind of person.”

Root look around, momentary surprise on her face before a big grin took over. She swung the axe up to rest on her shoulder.

“What can I say Sam, I do enjoy a bit of physical labor every now and then.” 

Shaw wasn’t sure how Root made everything sound like it was about sex, but she certainly had a talent for it. Shaw had to admit, the girl-with-an-axe look was doing it for her. She dismissed the thought before Root could see it on her face though, rolling her eyes at the woman instead.

She turned to go fetch a barrow and begin taking some of the wood indoors. As she walked away she heard Root’s axe bury itself into another length of wood and wondered about where Root had learned to chop firewood. 

It was dark by the time the chopping block and the axe had been put away, and wood was piled up neatly by each fireplace in the house. Shaw had noticed, as she went around the place with armfuls of wood, that Root had indeed moved into the spare room. It had been Cole’s, and years before it had been Shaw’s herself. It was nice to see someone using it again, Shaw supposed. 

They both gathered in the kitchen for dinner. Root had roasted a chicken that afternoon and they ate half of it with peas and gravy. Shaw noticed that Root wolfed hers down almost as fast as Shaw, and went back for seconds too. The physical activity must really have taken it out of her. Shaw knew from experience that Root would undoubtedly be aching tomorrow morning, her muscles unused to the work.

“Thanks for chopping the wood,” Shaw said after their forks had been put down, and they were both sipping a beer at the kitchen table. 

Root seemed not to hear at first, her gaze focused on the middle distance like she was lost in thought, but soon enough her eyes found Shaw’s and a smile graced her lips.

“No problem. Figured I should make myself useful.”

Shaw nodded and toyed with her beer bottle. “Why are you here Root?” she said after a pause.

Root looked at her for a few long moments, and Shaw had to glance away, her gaze finding the leaping flames of the fire instead. 

“I don’t meet many people I consider as interesting as you,” Root said at last.

Shaw snorted in response. “I’m not interesting. I spend most of my days with cows, remember?”

“Is that what you dreamed of doing when you were a kid?”

Shaw shrugged, “Not particularly, but it’s got to be done.”

“So what did you dream about then Sam?”

Shaw looked back at her companion, and found her leaning forward, elbows on the table and an eager, intense expression on her face. 

Shaw stood up abruptly. “I’ve got some things to do before bed.” She downed the last of her beer and set the bottle on the table. “Don’t worry about breakfast tomorrow, I don’t work on a Sunday unless it’s necessary.” She nodded, and walked out.

It was past time her guns needed cleaning.

 

***

Shaw found the fire catching nicely as she entered the bathroom, arms straining with the weight of a kettle-full of boiling water. She got it to the edge of the tub and managed to pour most of it in without spilling. Shaw wrinkled her nose in disgust at how little of the bath it filled. Three more should do it.

It was hard, boring work, and Shaw was sweating by the time she finished. She wiped her brow and popped the top few buttons on her shirt open, before heading down the corridor to the familiar old door. It was closed, but Shaw rapped on it smartly and pushed it open a moment later. She wasn’t going to wait for Root to deign to answer. 

Shaw’s rude entrance was met by a pair of barely open brown eyes in a frowning face. Root’s hair was mussed from sleep, and Shaw had to take a breath to calm herself from the sight. The bed sheets were tangled around Root’s waist, the eiderdown almost entirely off the bed. 

“Sam?” Root muttered. She tried to push herself onto her elbows and groaned, giving up and collapsing back onto the bed. “Is there trouble?” she asked, worry clouding her eyes for a moment.

“No trouble,” Shaw reassured her, “unless you count yourself. Aching much from yesterday?”

Root struggled to pushed herself onto her elbows again, determined despite the obvious pain on her face. “A little,” she said unsteadily. “Ow.” She flopped back down and groaned dramatically. “You’re going to have to bring me breakfast in bed Shaw.”

“Not a chance,” Shaw moved closer, warily approaching the bed. “I can help you get loosened up again though.”

Despite her feeble state, Root still grinned lasciviously. “I bet you can.”

“Knock it off or you won’t get the back rub or the first dunk in the bath.” 

Root opened her mouth to say something, then shut it again, looking at Shaw all the while like Shaw had just sprouted two heads. Shaw just waited, standing patiently next to the bed.

“Back rub?” Root asked hopefully, after a long moment. It sounded like she couldn’t believe it, like Shaw might be teasing her. 

Shaw just nodded. “If you like.” 

Root nodded, then winced. She tried to rub her sore neck, then groaned again as the movement of her hand pulled at her tender arm and shoulder muscles. “Ow, ow, and more ow.” She squinted at Shaw warily. “You promise to be gentle?”

Shaw let a small smile tug at her lips. “No. It only works if I actually work your muscles.”

Root closed her eyes and sighed. “Ok, I’ll submit to your expert opinion. Do I have to move?”

“Just lie on your front,” she paused and took a breath, preparing herself for the onslaught her next words were sure to bring, “and bare your top half.”

Root opened one eye to squint at her, a smile forming slowly on her face. To Shaw’s surprise she didn’t say anything bawdy though.

“Give a girl some privacy and turn around?” was all.

Shaw acquiesced quickly, and heard Root shifting behind her. She smirked at the muttered curse words that fell from Root’s lips as she presumably struggled with her clothing. Shaw liked a girl with a blue streak. She wander over to the fire grate to poke at the ashes and throw some more kindling and wood on the fire. It would soon catch.

“Ready,” Root’s voice said at last.

Shaw turned to find Root lying face down on the bed, her naked back exposed to the chill air. She walked over and took a deep breath before climbing on top of the bed, positioning her knees either side of Root’s body. On previous occasions when Shaw had given someone a massage they were either in a chair or lying on a smaller bed than this that she could move around, but since Root would undoubtedly complain about being moved, and since Shaw didn’t mind getting up close and personal with attractive women, she just straddled Root’s upper thighs and got on with it.

To Shaw’s continued surprise, the only sounds that came from Root’s mouth during the entire thing were grunts and groans and the occasional ‘fuck’. Shaw worked her muscles hard, and was secretly impressed with how much Root could tolerate it. The most trying thing about the whole experience, really, was Shaw’s own reaction to the situation. Root’s skin was warm and soft, and criminally good to touch. Shaw spent as much time running her hands over Root’s skin as she did soothing aching muscles. 

The groans didn’t help either. It didn’t take long for Shaw’s imagination to transplant the noises she was hearing from Root to an entirely different situation. One where they were both naked and engaged in another kind of vigorous physical activity. Adding gasoline to the fire was the fact that Shaw’s position and her movements meant that she was almost grinding against Root’s shapely behind. She wondered if Root was feeling as turned on as she was by the end of it. 

It was a blessing and sad parting when Shaw deemed Root done, sooner than she otherwise might. She climbed off, leaving a very limp and sleepy looking Root on the bed. 

Shaw poked her in the shoulder. “Hey, no sleeping. Bath’s waiting.” 

Root opened her eyes and Shaw jolted to see the same kind of lazy arousal in Root’s gaze as Shaw felt in her blood. Like warm molasses. Shaw turned away quickly, making a show of picking the eiderdown up off the floor.

“You need help getting up?” Shaw said, her traitorous brain wanting a ‘yes’. Manhandling a half-naked Root to the bath seemed like exquisite torture.

“No,” Root mumbled, “s’fine”. 

“Good,” Shaw said curtly with a nod, not looking around again. “Come find me when you’re done. I need a bath too. And don’t wait too long, it took forever to heat the water.”

She left quickly, the cool air in the hallway a blessed relief after the warmth of Root’s bedroom. She made her way to her own room and leaned against the closed door until she heard Root heading to the bathroom. Shaw sighed and flung herself down on her own bed. After a few moments of internal debat, she mentally shrugged and let her hand slip inside her pants. She found herself wet and ready.

 

***

Sundays had always been quiet days. The other folk on the ranch met for a Sunday service delivered by the preacher that roamed these parts, but Shaw had only ever gone when her parents forced her as a child, and those days were long gone. She mentioned it to Root in case she wanted to go, but was met with a wrinkled nose and a definitive “No thanks”.

They shared a late breakfast after their respective baths.

“Feel better?” Shaw ventured as she was mopping up the last of her egg.

Root nodded, grinning, then winced. “Still a little stiff, but much better, thanks to you. I should have guessed you had talented hands.” 

Shaw refused to rise to the bait, just collected her and Root’s empty plates and took them to the sink to rinse.

“So what do you usually get up to on a Sunday, Sam?” Root enquired from the table.

Shaw shrugged. She actually spent a lot of her time by herself, sometimes just sitting around thinking. ‘Thinking’ was probably a dumb answer though. 

“Different stuff,” she said, “fixing things, chopping wood, doing the books, cleaning guns…”

“Don’t you do anything to relax?” Root asked, keeping judgement from her voice.

Shaw put the clean dishes to dry and turned to face Root again as she wiped her hands on a dishrag. “Like what?”

Root shrugged, “Read, play games, music, art, sport...anything really.”

Shaw considered. 

“I draw sometimes. Or hunt. Why, what do you do?”

“Sundays are usually just the same as other days, so I guess you could say it depends on where I am.” Root watched as she tossed the dishrag to one side. “Wanna go hunt?”

Shaw smiled, already anticipating the smell of gunpowder. 

Despite her dual pistols and the gunshot wound that had first led Root to Shaw’s care, Shaw had always kind of presumed that Root would be a poor shot. It was a pleasure to be proved wrong. She also handled a horse beautifully. Shaw would have been lying if she’d said she wasn’t impressed. 

They went small game shooting, because Shaw considered it more fun to try and hit a small moving target and it was easier to take home after. They made a pretty good team, taking turns to startle the prairie chickens from their hiding places while the other took a shot. It was surprising to Shaw how not annoying Root could be when she wanted to, and they waited in companionable silence for the birds to settle after each shoot, Root taking Shaw’s lead on the best places to go. 

When they were three birds down each they turned for home, the sun already waning. At one point Root held up a hand for Shaw to stop and unslung her borrowed rifle. Shaw followed her line of sight and saw the rabbits she was eyeing up, pretty small targets from this far. She watched Root intently as the woman pulled back the hammer and lined up her shot. Shaw could see her chest moving with long, slow breaths. She wondered who taught Root to shoot a gun. 

The gun cracked and Shaw watched the satisfaction break on Root’s face as she made her mark. There was no point denying it, the woman ticked all of Shaw’s boxes.


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for no update yesterday, life happened :/

Midwinter brought temperatures in the low 40s. Despite the cold, Shaw enjoyed getting up in the dark most mornings, feeling like she was in some twilight world in which time was suspended. Root didn’t seem to like it as much and stopped getting up to make Shaw breakfast. Shaw didn’t mind though, a lifetime of ranch work had made her body clock favor the morning.

The evenings were pleasant too. Nicer than the evenings she spent with Jen and Emily, Shaw thought. Not that she didn’t appreciate some of the qualities of the two women, but Root knew how to be quiet and she knew how to entertain Shaw. It was like Root could read her moods better than anyone. Sometimes they would sit silently together in the sitting room or the kitchen, Root reading a book while Shaw nursed a whisky or got her pencil and sketch pad out. Other times they would listen to a phonograph and play cards or clean their guns, or Root would read aloud, or they would talk.

Shaw usually didn’t really like talk. It was a background noise that she had gotten used to, but most people talked way too much. Root could talk like that if she was trying to annoy Shaw, or push her buttons, or flirt.

Other times though, Root would talk and it would be nice. Shaw would listen to her stories, and respond with ones of her own. She heard about the winters Root had spent in Tall Trees and the bear she’d killed with a knife. Shaw told her about the night the barn caught afire and Shaw had climbed into the burning building to open the doors from the inside and save the animals trapped in there. 

Root told about the long summer weeks she’d spent on the steamboats serving drinks to rich people, and then pretending to be rich people herself after taking some mook for a ride. Shaw told about how her dad had taught her to swim and spear fish when she was a child, the hot summer days and sparkle of clear water coming back to life in Shaw’s mind.

It didn’t feel like sharing, but one night as she was poking the fire, Shaw realised that Root might know more about her than anyone she’d known. Except maybe Cole. She found herself more comfortable with that knowledge than she would have presumed herself to be. 

She was talking with Nate one afternoon, the day before Christmas eve in fact, when Root walked by with a parcel under her arm. She stopped to say hello and ask after Nate’s children. Root was good with people like that. When she left, her hand closed over Shaw’s bicep for a moment, a farewell gesture before she left.

When Shaw had watched her go, she turned back to Nate to find him staring at her with a bemused expression.

“What’s wrong with your face?” Shaw asked, knowing as she spoke that this was going to be about Root.

“Nothin’,” Nate smirked, “just nice t’know you two have found a way to keep warm together.”

Shaw scowled and punched him in the arm, “Don’t be an ass.”

“I’m not!” Nate held his hands up, “Just sayin’, I’ve never seen anyone touch you like that before. Well nobody who ain’t been hurting afterwards.”

Shaw scowled some more, and left Nate chuckling to himself.

The thing was, when she thought about it after, Root did touch her a lot, and it felt perfectly normal. Even nice. There were touches on the arm in greeting or farewell, a hand on Shaw’s hip if Root was moving past her, a gentle touch of their fingers as Root handed her a glass, a palm at the small of Shaw’s back as Root leaned in to murmur something in her ear. Heck, she even let Root lean in to fix her collar or button her coat sometimes.

Now that Shaw had thought about it, it was impossible to stop noticing. And because she noticed, she found her body reacting, enjoying the touches, feeling the heat and the promise in them. Wanting more.

 

***

Christmas eve brought with it some necessary socializing. It had long been tradition on the ranch to have a Christmas eve service followed by a get together in the Shaw house. Shaw’s parents had started it, and despite Shaw’s better judgement, she continued it. To be honest, it happened without her having a say in it anyway. Everyone came to the house, and Emily and Jen and Cole provided for them. 

This year there was nobody to enact these rituals, so Shaw found herself explaining the whole thing to Root that morning.

“So you’re saying we have to cook for everyone?” Root frowned. “You know it takes a long time to prepare food for that many people, right?”

Shaw shrugged, feeling stupid. “I guess I never thought about it. It’s nothin’ fancy.”

Root sighed. “I guess you usually stand stoically in the corner of a room with a bottle of something and try not to interact with people?”

“Pretty much.”

“Honestly Sam, what would you do without me right now?”

Shaw bit her tongue. She had actually forgotten until Nate mentioned it yesterday. She felt pretty dumb.

Root finally smiled at her. “God you look so glum. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things. You just prepare to make nice and get your smart clothes brushed out. And find me something to wear.”

And so Shaw made herself scarce for the morning. She got out her finest clothes and laid them out on the bed to brush. She didn’t have anything Root could wear though, regardless of their size difference Shaw only had one fancy suit. She bit her lip and went hunting.

Around lunch time Shaw entered the kitchen to find a red faced Root kneading dough. It was hot in the kitchen; the oven and the stove going full blast while a fire crackled in the grate. Also, it smelled amazing. There must have been some meat roasting in the oven.

Root gave her a stern look. “I made you a sandwich for lunch. No touching the pies. Or the bread.”

Shaw pouted at the unfairness of it all, but sat down to her sandwich nonetheless. If she was someone else she supposed she might feel bad about Root doing all this work, but she wasn’t someone else. Besides, Root was staying there for free. This was like working off her debt.

Shaw finished her sandwich quickly, and wandered into the pantry to look longingly at the cooling pies Root had lined up. 

“Shaw!” Root called from the kitchen. “Get your ass out here now before I come in there with a rolling pin.”

Shaw reflected that that was not the first time such a threat had been levelled at her, and turned to leave the pies, silently promising them that she would try a slice of each.

Root was rolling her dough out on the table. “I hope you didn’t touch anything.”

“I was good.” 

“That remains to be seen,” Root eyed her, “you gonna decorate?” 

“Decorate?” 

“Yep, mistletoe, wreath, candles, that kind of thing. Plus you need to tidy up. Then you can go get a couple of barrels of ale to set up in here and some rum and whisky. And set up the big table in the dining room ready for food. Get some plates and glasses out. Then you can come back here and peel potatoes.”

Shaw thought about grumbling, but in the end she just snapped a salute to a smirking Root and set off to see what needed cleaning. 

Shaw was in the middle of hammering some mistletoe above a doorway when Cole and Lucy arrived, unannounced. Lucy immediately got to work in the kitchen with Root, and Shaw had to admit it was good to have Cole working by her side again, even if it was just to set up the big table.

 

***

Shaw lurked outside with her hot whisky. It rapidly cooled, and her fingers and nose with it, but it had been so hot and claustrophobic inside that she’d needed the air.

The party was a roaring success, judging by the shouts of laughter and non-stop chatter inside. Every room was packed with people, more people than Shaw thought she’d even seen on the ranch before. The food had been a success, and the booze was flowing freely. Shaw had even heard a pipe and drum start off somewhere in the house as she slipped out. 

She wondered how she would ever get rid of them. Maybe she could sleep in the hayloft.

A sudden rise in the noise level as the door opened behind her alerted Shaw to the fact that she was no longer alone. She could guess who it was. No-one else would miss her presence.

“You’re a natural,” Shaw said. She’d watched Root flit around the party, making everyone feel welcome. Flirting and laughing, and looking beautiful in the dress that Shaw had found for her in Jen’s wardrobe.

“I’m adaptable,” she countered. She stepped up next to Shaw. “Are you satisfied with it?”

Shaw didn’t know what to say just now. Sure she was satisfied. It was remarkable what Root had pulled off in a day. Shaw didn’t know what would have happened without Root there, probably a lot of disappointed faces and sour looks. Shaw’s popularity would have plummeted from it’s already lowly position. She might not have enjoyed it, but Shaw understood what the Christmas eve shindig represented for the people who worked on the ranch.

“More than. I guess I got you for Christmas this year.”

Shaw watched the smile on Root’s face out of the corner of her eye. A moment later Root turned and leaned into her, a warm hand pressing into Shaw’s hip as Root’s mouth found her ear.

“You can unwrap me tomorrow if you like,” she murmured.

Shaw felt her body respond, and for once she didn’t try to fight it. She pulled Root into her more fully and turned her face capture Root’s lips with her own.

Root tasted of spiced rum and dried fruit, and Shaw lost herself in the kiss for a few long moments, her fingers bunched in the fabric of Root’s dress. 

It was quick, all things considered, and then Shaw was stepping back, cold air embracing her once more. She nodded at Root and turned back to the house, leaving the other woman to cool off in the night.

“By the way,” she paused, one hand on the door, “Cole and Lucy are in your room tonight.”

“And where am I meant to sleep?” Root asked with a knowing smirk. 

Shaw let her figure that one out.


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rating bump. This is mainly just PWP so skip if you don't wanna read. I could have edited this a lot more cus I'm not entirely happy with it, but a posting schedule is a posting schedule.

Shaw awoke on Christmas morning to find Root in her bed. It took her a moment to remember she had invited Root in. It had a been a long time since Shaw had woken to a warm body beside her.

She needed to pee, so rolled out of bed and left Root snoozing. It was cold in the house, and Shaw shivered after the warmth of the bed, her underclothes not providing much insulation. After she’d finished her morning business, Shaw fetched some water to see off the last of the alcohol from the night before, and set to building a fire in her bedroom grate. 

When the fire was burning well, Shaw stood and looked over at the sleeping figure in her bed. There was something about Root in the morning that made Shaw feel like a sap. She considered getting dressed, but really there was no need for another hour or so.

She slipped back under the covers and shuffled closer to Root’s body heat. Shaw tried to remember last night. She recalled Root pulling her into a far too public kiss under some mistletoe, and Root’s laughter when Shaw had glowered at her amid the hollers and whoops of the party goers. She remembered drinking a beer while watching Cole whirl Jen around the sitting room in time to the beat of a drum and clapping hands, as a pipe whistled on in the background. She remembered sitting under the big table with a bunch of kids, eating pie straight out of the dish.

Some while later, Shaw watched Root wake up. It was slow, and far too adorable. First her brow twitched into a frown and she curled up into herself more, pressing into Shaw’s body heat. Then she stretched and finally opened her eyes a crack. Then she closed them, muttering, and rolled over.

Shaw reached for the cup of water she’d set down on her side table. She rolled towards Root’s back and propped herself up so she could lean over the other woman’s body and wave the water in her face. 

“Water, Root. Drink some, you’ll feel better.”

Root cracked her eyes open again and took the cup. She sat up a little to drink it down, then flopped back into the bed and held the cup out for Shaw to take back. Root pulled the covers tight around her.

“You ok?” Shaw asked.

Root didn’t speak, so much as mumble and shift her body backwards until she was pressed up against Shaw. Shaw got the picture. She lay down and spooned Root with her body, resting a hand on Root’s hip. She was wearing the shift that had been under her dress last night.

Shaw closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of Root’s body, and the curve of her ass against Shaw’s hips. She couldn’t recall doing this with somebody before, but with Root it was good. Shaw could feel her body waking up, heat settling between her legs at the proximity of Root’s warm and pliable form. She wondered if Root felt it too. 

Shaw’s hand began to wander of its own accord, slipping from Root’s hip up her side and down to her belly, caressing her in slow, lazy circles. Root wriggled pleasantly against her, pressing herself back more firmly into Shaw’s arms.

“Sam…” Root whispered after Shaw’s hand had settled in place on Root’s stomach. 

“Yeah?” Shaw’s voice was husky with something other than sleep.

“Will you touch me?” 

Shaw felt her body saying yes even before the word fell from her lips.

Shaw was gentle to start with. Her lips pressed against Root’s bare shoulder and buried into Root’s neck, chaste kisses matched by the continued slow movements of Shaw fingers against the fabric of the shift. She slipped a hand down Root’s thigh, finding where the rough cotton gave way to hot skin, then trailed her hand back up, taking in the curve of Root’s ass and circling the bump of her hip, slipping up her side and down her arm, tracing each finger in turn, before finally pushing Root’s long hair aside and turning her face so Shaw could press their mouths together. Root tangled a hand in Shaw’s hair and held her in place while they kissed, their tongues meeting lazily. 

Root’s other hand closed over Shaw’s, and she pressed Shaw’s palm to her breast. Shaw squeezed the softness under her fingers and Root moaned into her mouth. Root’s hand kept hers in place, urging her on. Shaw needed no further encouragement, her hand working Root’s breasts one by one, alternating harsh squeezes with featherlight brushes of her fingertips over Root’s nipples.

Root’s ass pressed back into Shaw’s body insistently, fitting snugly into the cradle of Shaw’s hips. They broke the kiss and strained against one another, Root moaning into the pillow while Shaw sank her teeth into the skin of Root’s neck. Her hand slid down once more, leaving Root’s breasts to follow the fabric of her shift until she got to the hem. Shaw bunched the fabric in her fist and yanked it up and out of the way up around Root’s waist.

Free of the barrier, Shaw’s hand caressed the newly available skin, marveling at the softness of her body.

“Sam...” Root breathed. Shaw had never heard her name sounded out quite so delectably before.

Shaw’s heart was an insistent rhythm in her chest and she could fee control slipping from her grasp. She wanted Root, wanted to take her. She raked her nails down Root’s thigh, then back up again, her hand slipping under the fabric of Root’s slip to run over the slight curve of her stomach and up to her breasts. Shaw exhaled a shuddery breath into Root’s neck as she found one of Root’s small breasts with her palm, squeezing it greedily. Root moaned again in response, her hand seeking Shaw out and grabbing her, holding them tighter together. 

The ache between Shaw’s legs grew more fierce as Root squirmed against her, breathing harder. Shaw’s hand switched breasts, kneading the new handful she had with firm, calloused fingers, finding Root’s nipple hard and needy.

Shaw’s brain was so fogged she didn’t realize what was happening when Root tugged her hand out from under her clothing, but then Root was twisting in her arms and pushing Shaw to the bed and climbing on top of her. Their lips met in a fierce kiss that ended too soon, but Root was a woman of purpose. She straddled Shaw’s hips and pulled her into a sitting position to yank the undershirt off over her head. Shaw could feel the heat from Root’s center through her long johns and was too distracted by it to do more than comply with Root’s demands.

After her shirt had been discarded on the floor, Shaw made a move to pull Root’s’ shift over her head, wanting to revel in her nakedness, but Root’s hands stopped her, and when Shaw looked up, a question on her lips, she found Root’s gaze fixed on her chest. 

“What, you never seen breasts before?” Shaw asked with a smirk, enjoying the feel of Root’s strong fingers still holding her wrists.

Root’s eyes finally flickered up to meet hers. 

“None as wonderful as yours, Sameen,” she said gravely, her face breaking into a grin a second later.

Shaw snorted something that could have been laughter or frustration, before breaking Root’s grip on her and finally tearing the shift off of Root and tossing it away. She allowed herself a moment or two to take in Root’s figure, her tongue darting out to wet her lips. A moment or two was all she had before Root was forcing her down to the bed and pressing their bodies together.

Shaw didn’t know how long they spent rolling each other around on the bed kissing and exploring each other’s body. Her long johns soon went the way of their other garments and the feel of her naked body intertwined with Root’s was heavenly. 

Shaw’s hands touched as much of Root as she could reach, the pads of her fingers running over pale skin. She felt Root react to each touch, her kisses becoming more ardent by the second. Their legs slipped together, intertwined, and she could feel the evidence of Root’s arousal between her thighs.

Shaw couldn’t wait any longer, she wanted to be inside Root right now. She rolled them until she was on top, slipping in between Root’s open legs and pressing her belly into Root’s center. Root gasped at the sensation, her legs spreading wider to accommodate Shaw as she rolled her hips and felt Root’s arousal smear across her skin.

She trailed her fingers along Root’s thigh, rougher now, pressing into her with fierce desire. They began to rock together, and Shaw found Root’s lips once more, their kisses hot and insistent. Shaw propped herself up on her elbows, using her position to thrust her hips more forcefully into Root. She swore breathlessly when Root took advantage of the position to fondle her breasts, pinching her nipples and grabbing needily.

“Sam,” Root panted, her eyes closed and muscles strained, “please…”

Shaw felt herself clench at Root’s words, and she shifted herself to slip a hand between their bodies. She dipped between Root’s legs and cupped her pussy, marvelling at how hot and wet she was. Root made a strangled sound of pleasure and clutched at Shaw’s arms and shoulders.

Shaw leaned down to press her mouth to Root’s ear. “I’m gonna fuck you now,” she whispered, voice rough and eager.

“Yes,” Root moaned, “please.”

Shaw needed no further urging, two fingers sliding through Root’s folds and thrusting into her, enjoying the hitched breath and short cry that fell from Root’s lips. Root was so hot inside, hot and soft and wonderfully wet. Shaw groaned and began a rhythm with her fingers, her own need roaring inside her, fierce and demanding.

She took Root hard, the pent up desire of the past few weeks spilling out as she drove her fingers deep. Root tried to muffle her cries, biting into her own arm as Shaw’s fingers dragged and pressed against her inner walls.

“Sam,” Root pleaded in between hitched breaths, “put your mouth on me. I need…”

Shaw knew exactly what Root needed. She moved her body down the bed, her fingers keeping up their insistent rhythm, and bent her head to Root’s folds. Shaw took a few long moments to lick Root’s arousal from her, enjoying the taste of her, enjoying how wet she was. Shaw found her clit and teased it, wanting to prolong the inevitable, but Root’s fingers twined in her hair and pressed her close, hips thrusting into Shaw’s mouth. 

Shaw found she could not maintain the speed of her thrusts in this new position but she was deep inside Root, so deep inside her, and she could hear Root falling apart around her and under her. Shaw’s hips were grinding into the sheets, her own body aching for release, Root’s muffled cries only stoking her arousal higher. She would sooner cease breathing than stop fucking Root to see to her own needs though. 

Root was arching off the bed now, her heels digging into Shaw’s ribs as Shaw’s tongue flicked over her clit as fast as she could manage. Root cried out and was suddenly still, her body poised on a precipice. With a few strokes of her fingers, Shaw pushed her over the edge, only just managing to keep her mouth in position while Root’s orgasm rushed through her, her hips jerking and chest heaving, her muscles spasming around Shaw’s fingers, thighs holding her tightly in place.

When she was done, Shaw placed a messy kiss on her thigh and gently withdrew. Root was breathing heavily, her eyes closed and muscles spent, but she caressed Shaw’s cheek with one hand, urging her up the bed and to Root’s waiting lips. They kissed while Root’s arousal dried on her fingers and her chin, until Root pushed her off, rolled her over and danced her fingers across Shaw’s belly.

“You’re pretty good at that,” Root murmured, her brown eyes finding Shaw’s. She smirked impishly. “I am too.”

Shaw grinned, enjoying the way Root was looking at her like a particularly tasty treat. Root bent her head to Shaw’s breasts and slipped her hand between her legs, and Shaw discovered that Root really was very good at this kind of thing.


	7. Seven

Cole helped out with the chores later, kind of like the old days. Unfortunately his extended absence meant that he had a lot of new gossip to impart to Shaw’s reluctant ears. She grunted her way through most of it, her mind still on the morning’s activities with Root. 

“So you’re really just gonna pretend like nothing unusual is going on?” Cole said as they were feeding the horses. 

Shaw’s attention was wrenched back to the present by the question.

“What?” she feigned innocence, happy to let Cole waste his time prying. She sure as hell had no answers.

“Sam,” Cole put his hands on his hips, “don’t ‘what’ me, you know damn well what I mean. What she just turned up one day like a lost puppy and you decided to keep her?”

“Pretty much.”

“And you don’t find that at all worrying?”

“Why would it worry me?”

“Uh, she’s a wanted criminal for starters. Do you know anything about her? Is she dangerous?”

Shaw rolled her eyes at Cole and turned her back, striding out into the corral. “I know enough Cole. I trust her.”

“You sure you’re thinking with your head and not what’s in your pants?” Cole said, hurrying after her.

“Fuck you Cole,” Shaw replied mildly. She wasn’t really bothered by Cole’s prying, she figured he was probably doing it more out of obligation than real concern.

“Shaw, would you just stop and listen to me for a second.”

Shaw obediently stopped and turned to face her oldest friend. 

“I’m concerned about you,” Cole said when he caught up. “Will you at least tell me what your plan is here? The Marshal will find out at some point, somebody will tell, and then you’ll be arrested for harboring a known criminal. And then what do you think will happen to the ranch and the people that depend on you here? It seems a lot to risk for a pretty face.”

“You should see her naked,” Shaw grinned.

Cole gave her his best stern look.

“Jesus, ok ma,” Shaw rolled her eyes, “no I don’t have a plan. It’s been nice having hot meals every night and she plays a good round of cards. That’s as far ahead as I thought.” 

Shaw was about at her limit for scoldings today. She took off towards the house, her mind already on lunch.

Cole was hot on her heels still. “I can’t believe you’re being so cavalier about this. I mean what were you thinking when she turned up on your doorstep?”

“I don’t know Cole, what was I thinking when you turned up on my doorstep? Or Jen? There was no reason to turn her out, that’s why.”

“Did you miss the part about her being a wanted criminal?!” Cole was becoming increasingly agitated.

“No, I just don’t care. She didn’t hurt anyone Cole, she just stole some money. Probably. Besides I don’t think she’s planning to settle down here.”

“Oh really? This just a vacation from her life of crime?”

“Sarcasm, Cole, really?”

“Fine, ignore me. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you when she brings a whole heap of crap down on you Sam, and don’t think I’m going to bail you out.” 

 

***

Cole and Lucy were planning to stay for a few more days. Shaw hoped their entire stay wouldn’t be marred by the frostiness between her and Cole. She didn’t know how to explain Root to him sufficiently. And sure maybe she was being too sanguine about the whole situation, but the Marshal’s office seemed pretty far away right now. She was pretty sure she had plausible deniability on her side anyhow.

Root and Lucy did their best to ease the tension that evening over dinner, but Shaw excused herself soon after, claiming she needed to talk to the nightwatchman. When she got back Cole and Lucy had gone to bed and Root was reading in the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to wait up,” she said as she tramped through the back door. She headed to the fire, burning low in the grate but still warm enough to heat her chilled hands. She heard Root put her book down.

“I didn’t want to presume I was sharing your bed again tonight,” she said.

Shaw tried to detect any emotion in her voice, but she sounded as matter of fact about it as Shaw hoped.

After they locked up, Shaw led Root up to bed by the hand. They fucked in the darkness, Shaw happy to lose herself in the feel of Root’s body moving against her. After, they lay together in silence. Shaw was close to sleep when Root spoke.

“Cole doesn’t like me much does he?”

Shaw made a noncommittal noise into her pillow. “He’s just worried about me, about the ranch.”

“Sorry,” Root added after a long pause. 

“Don’t be. I made the decision to let you stay here.”

Root didn’t say anything more after that, but she did find Shaw in the darkness and turn her face to press their lips together.

Shaw fell asleep with Root’s head on her shoulder.

 

***

It was New Years’ Eve when Root disappeared. Shaw only realised when she woke up in the night to a cold and empty bed. 

She didn’t mention it to Cole and Lucy, who were due to depart that day, although Cole looked like he might say something about it as they parted.

The silence that followed their departure seemed deeper than any Shaw could remember. 

Jen and Emily returned a couple of days later and despite the laughter and warmth they brought with them, Shaw found that her bed seemed colder and less welcoming than ever. 

The new year brought a bout of freezing weather and there was heavy snowfall on the ranch. Shaw took advantage of the lull in operations to take the train to Blackwater to talk accounts with the bank manager. The ranch had made a nice profit that year and Shaw was able to purchase further land deeds to extend the grazing grounds. Come the thaw she would hire men to build a new barn and stables. She planned to give Jen charge of developing new business connections, if she wanted to stay on. Shaw was under no illusion than a ranch might not be the ideal place for a young woman.

She brooded on the future as the train carried her back home. Jen would leave at some point, find a husband and settle somewhere, or maybe head off to a big city, see the world. Then it would just be Emily left, and Shaw supposed the woman would hang around just about forever. She would be lonely though, with just Shaw for company.


	8. Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter, thanks for all your comments and kudos, I'm just happy that I got to share a small piece of my brain with all of you.

The fall was finally upon them after a long, dry summer, and Shaw shivered in her saddle as the last of the day’s warmth fled the world. The last of the harvest had been brought in the week before, and the ranch seemed quieter now that the seasonal workers had moved on. There had been more of them than ever this year, given the building work and the increase in cattle. It had kept Shaw busy, but not busy enough to stop her mind fleeing to thoughts of Root on occasion. 

The autumn always seemed like a time for reflection, and as Shaw kicked her horse into a canter, she found that this year was no exception. Root had not come back, hadn’t been seen since she left just after Christmas. It seemed a long time ago to Shaw now, even though she could still recall the feel of Root’s skin under her fingers sometimes. Emily had taken a nasty fall in the spring, slipping on unseasonable ice, and Shaw had hired a new housekeeper to run things while Emily recovered. The arrangement had kind of stuck since Shaw had talked Emily into retiring. Cole and Lucy had fallen pregnant a some months ago and Shaw would need to arrange to visit them before the squalling thing arrived. She had even gifted Jen some land at her last birthday as an investment for the future.

Life had kept going, in short. Shaw just felt like it was all moving around her, like she was stuck in place while the rest of the world got on with it. Sure she could pretend with the best of them, but deep down Shaw knew what it meant. She would always be like this, unchanged and uncaring in the midst of the drama of human lives, the stoic center around which other people revolved. There were times when she figured she’d be better off removing herself from the whole thing, but it was tricky when there were people like Emily counting on you.

Shaw tried to shake herself out of it as she arrived back at the corral and dropped her horse off with the stableboy. She could see lights on in the house as she walked over, dusk gathering around her. It was a heartening sight, and Shaw felt the yellow glow beat back some of the negative thoughts. 

When she pushed open the back door, the mood that had seized her out in the fields was banished entirely. There was a dog in the kitchen, a dog being fawned over by three delighted women who were all insisting on talking to the handsome beast in baby voices.

“What’s going on?” Shaw said from the doorway when no-one acknowledged her presence.

The dog looked over first, and Shaw had to try hard not to smile at him. 

“Oh my god Shaw!” Jen almost shouted, her beaming smile taking over her face. “He’s so cute! Can we keep him?”

“What? Where did he come from?” Shaw was perplexed, she’d assumed Jen had got him.

“No idea,” Jen said, before promptly turning her attention back to the dog. 

Shaw looked at Emily for help, although she was chuckling happily as the dog pushed Jen to the floor. The third woman, Shaw’s new housekeeper Gracie, was giggling away too, but she would be no help, she seemed terrified of Shaw most of the time.

“Emily,” Shaw said, sterner, as she stepped inside properly and shut the door behind her, “wanna tell me where the dog came from?”

Emily recovered herself and seemed to see Shaw for the first time. “Oh Sameen dear, I’m sorry, we’ve just been having so much fun with this little charmer. Has he got a name?”

“A name?” Shaw rolled her eyes. “Emily, he’s not my dog. Where did he come from?”

“Not yours?” Emily looked taken aback. “I don’t know what to say my dear, he was in your bedroom. Gracie found him up there scratching to get let out a short while ago.”

“My room?” Shaw was thrown by that turn of events. She had once again lost Emily to the commotion as Gracie dragged the dog off Jen. Instead of prying more useless information out of the three women, Shaw gave the bustle a wide berth and strode through the kitchen and out into the hall. She was up the stairs and pushing her bedroom door open in no time.

Even in the gloom, Shaw quickly picked out the envelope on her bed.

Before she picked it up, Shaw went to her window and peered out, wondering if she would discern the lanky silhouette of a certain irritating brunette out there. She stared for a long while, still but alert at the glass, her eyes picking out shapes in the growing dark. 

Finally, when it had got too dark to see anything useful, Shaw lit a candle and walked over to the bed. She turned the unmarked envelope over and opened it swiftly, her eyes running through the words in the flickering candlelight. 

Thought you might like someone to keep you company who didn’t answer back.

Shaw traced a finger over the words, wondering why Root hadn’t stayed, wondering whether this was her final gift to Shaw.

She sighed and held the letter to the flame. Would she could burn the longing right out of herself so easily.

 

***

Fall turned to cold winter faster than Shaw would have like and the last plantings of the season died unpicked in the frozen ground. Bear had been her near constant companion around the ranch since his arrival, but even he was beginning to shirk the outside world and stay in the warm kitchen when Shaw left on her rounds. 

The bitter wind gnawed at Shaw’s face as she swung her axe, her cheeks pink from the combined exertion and cold. Her hands were starting to go numb, even through her gloves,and sweat dampened her skin, but chopping wood needed to get done if they were to be warm and fed, so Shaw would keep going. 

She bent to gather the split logs and toss them in the direction of the wood pile, but before she could raise her axe again a voice cut through the crisp air. 

“Well this is a sight that’ll keep me warm on cold, lonely nights.”

Shaw stopped moving, her muscles tense. The absurd thought crossed her mind that if she turned around, Root would be gone. That this was just her mind playing tricks.

“That is, unless you wanna keep me warm on cold, lonely nights.”

No, it was real. She was there.

Shaw turned, axe hanging at her side, to find Root standing a few feet away. She looked the same as always, perhaps more tired but that could have been the way the light caught her face.

“What are you doing here?” Shaw said gruffly when her eyes had finished checking Root for injuries.

“Why to enjoy the comforts of your hospitality of course,” she shot back.

“Root,” Shaw growled a warning. She cast a look over her shoulder to the house where Emily would be doing needlework maybe, while Gracie prepared the dinner. Jen would be returning soon too, after a long day inspecting fence posts with Nate.

Shaw realised she had no idea how Root fit in with those people, with this life she had. She turned back, her fingers tightening around the axe handle.

“You can’t stay here,” Shaw said. She thought she saw Root’s smile waver, her shoulders drop a bit, but she didn’t linger on those details. It was Root’s own stupid fault anyway.

“It’s ok Sam, no need to panic, I was just passing through. Wanted to see how my furred friend was doing. Did you take to him?”

Shaw managed a stiff nod, her mind a blank. It seemed like something she’d been waiting a long time for had just happened, but it was all wrong somehow. She wanted it to be over.

Root seemed to wait a few moments as though she thought Shaw might speak again. When she didn’t, Root just nodded, seemed to gather herself. Shaw suppressed a shiver, the sweat beginning to freeze under her shirt.

“I’ll let you get on then,” Root said finally, “it was good to lay eyes on you again Sameen.”

Shaw opened her mouth to say something in return, but the words died in her throat. There was no need to prolong the encounter.

Root flashed a quick grin, lingering a moment more, and then she was turning and walking away. Shaw watched her go, heading to the train station maybe, or to a horse. And then off into the world again, wherever it was that Root went in between her visits. Shaw opened her mouth as if to call out again, felt her fingers twitch like they wanted to grasp something, but she let both impulses wash over her and recede again. 

Shaw turned back to her block, and raised the axe once more.

“Shaw.” 

Shaw fumbled the downswing and the axe buried itself in the block. She ignored it and turned to follow the sound of Root’s voice.

She was taken aback to see Root striding purposefully towards her.

“Goddammit Shaw,” Root said as she got within arms reach. She didn’t stop there though, and a moment later Shaw felt herself pulled into a rough embrace, Root’s lips finding hers with barely checked aggression.

Shaw felt her body respond immediately, almost subconsciously pressing into heat of Root’s body as Root’s scent enveloped her. Shaw’s hands found themselves pulling Root tighter against her, the fabric of Root’s coat bunching in her fists.

It was long minutes later when Root finally broke the kiss, her face flushed and but her eyes hard and determined. Her fingers grabbed at Shaw’s shirt, holding her close. Shaw could feel the intensity radiating off her.

“Goddamn you Sameen. I spent nine months in jail for you, you do not get to turn me away like that.”

Shaw blinked. “You were in jail?”

“Yes,” Root practically shook her, the words snapping out, “I walked up to that stupid, lazy ass Marshal in Blackwater and handed myself in, cut a deal for a short sentence, and spent the most boring nine months of my life in a tiny jail cell with idiots for company.”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.” Shaw had the distinct feeling that she was being blamed for something here.

“I know, doofus.” Root beat her fist weakly against Shaw’s chest. “I did it so I could come back here and find a place in your life without bringing the law down on you. So you better let me back in!”

Shaw felt a smile tug at her lips. She was trying to imagine Root holed up in jail for nine months. It must have been hell. She imagined there was a lot of pacing.

“You escape or get released?”

“I’m not gonna dignify that with an answer. Are you even gonna pretend to be happy to see me?”

Shaw shrugged, her hands still resting on Root’s hips. “Maybe. Maybe I can find another way to show you.”

Root grinned and leaned in closer, her mouth hovering just an inch away from Shaw’s. “Them’s fighting words, Sam.”

“Shaw!” Jen’s voice rang out suddenly and Shaw jerked a step back, dropping her hands from Root’s waist. A second later Jen ran up, breathing hard. She spared a quick, curious look at Root before turning back to Shaw, excitement on her face. “Shaw, Lucy had her baby! We got a telegram through just now!”

“Yeah? No shit kid, is she ok? The baby ok?” Shaw was pleased for them, but she’d never been able to muster the kind of excitement other people displayed about babies.

“Both fine. It’s a girl too, and guess what they called it?” Jen was grinning, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet.

Shaw tried not to roll her eyes, instead exchanging a quick glance with a bemused Root. “How ‘bout you just tell me kiddo?”

“Sam! Well Samantha, but Sam for short. After you Shaw! Isn’t that neat?”

Next to them Root had begun to laugh, and Jen looked at her with a frown. 

“Who’s this Shaw? And why is she laughing?”

Shaw was wondering that herself. “This is Root. I have no idea why she’s laughing.”

“Sorry,” Root got herself under control, a hand at her throat, “I just know a couple of Sam’s now.”

“Right,” Shaw did roll her eyes this time, “anyway, Root meet Jen, Jen meet Root.”

“Who is she?” Jen demanded again.

“She’s a…” Shaw searched for the right word, ignoring Root’s smirk, “...friend.” 

“Pleased to meet you Jen,” Root held out her hand amicably, and Jen shook it, though her eyes were narrowed in suspicion.

“Likewise. You live nearby?”

Shaw frowned, knowing how Jen sometimes got with her inquisitions. She felt like she should step in, but at the same time if Root was going to stick around this was inevitable. Root could do well to fend for herself.

Root shrugged, trying to appear relaxed but Shaw could read the wariness in her posture. “I don’t live much of anywhere at the moment. Thinking about settling down though.” 

“Just you? No husband or kids tagging along?” 

Shaw held the smirk off her face, but Root just grinned. “Nope.”

“So what is it you do for a living?” 

Root sighed. “I have many talents. What do you do for a living?”

“I’m Shaw’s right hand man. Woman. Person.”

Shaw sighed at Jen’s behaviour. It was like she was trying to start a pissing contest with Root. “Enough Jen,” she said, not unkindly, “why don’t you head in and tell Emily the good news, huh?”

Jen gave a last suspicious look at Root. “Yeah, ok. You gonna be out here long?” 

“Not too much longer. Tell Emily to set an extra place for dinner.”

Jen bit her lip, looking like she was debating saying something. In the end though, she kept her mouth closed and nodded, before heading off towards the house.

“Well, that was intense,” Root said when Jen was out of earshot. “She always like that?”

“Nah,” Shaw turned to watch her back retreat, “but don’t ask me to explain it. Kid’s a mystery half the time.”

“So that extra place at dinner for me?” Root said, her voice honeyed. 

Shaw looked back at her, taking in the smirk on her face and how it didn’t quite hide the vulnerability in her eyes. 

“Sure it is. You need to meet the rest of them if you’re gonna be sticking around.”

“The rest of them?”

“Yeah, you’ll be fine though. You charmed half the ranch last time you were here remember? Now, I still gotta finish up here so why don’t you go get your pack from wherever you stashed it and meet me back here?”

“I dunno Sam, I do like watching you do manual labour,” she grinned.

Shaw bent to pull the axe out of the block, hiding the smile on her face. She was already looking forward to getting Root into her bed later.


End file.
